1972: Fourteen men die after British troops open fire on a civil rights demonstration in Deny. Later in the year, the IRA sets off a series of bombs in the capital of Belfast that kill 11 people.

1979: The IRA assassinates Earl Mountbatten, a World War II hero and a cousin of England's Queen Elizabeth.

1981: Ten IRA prisoners gain worldwide attention and become martyrs when they die in a hunger strike.

1985: The Anglo-Irish Agreement allows the Republic ofIreland's government a consultant's role in matters concerning Northern Ireland.

1993: The Downing Street Declaration, presented by Irish leader Albert Reynolds and British Prime Minister John Major, stipulates that the people of Northern Ireland will decide their own future. Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, is promised roles in peace talks if they declare a cease-fire.